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Tuesday, May 25, 2004
Devinaderas say son 'pressured to save Ecleo'
CEBU CITY -- Cedrick Devinadera was pressured to help save former mayor Ruben Ecleo Jr. from his parricide case, said both parents of Devinadera Monday.
Candido Devinadera, 62, said Cedrick, 33, is a member of the Philippine Benevolent Missionaries Association (PBMA). He joined the group that has Ecleo as its "supreme master" more than five years ago.
This, Candido told the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) 7 Monday, would explain his son's loyalty to Ecleo. Candido also corrected the spelling of his son's name: it's Cedrick Devinadera, not Cedric Divinadira as what is being reported.
The Crusade Against Violence (CAV) and brothers Angelito, Ricky and Josebil Bacolod said they plan to file an administrative case against Barili Regional Trial Court (RTC) Judge Ildefonso Suerte and Assistant Regional State Prosecutor Vicente Maņalac.
"Klaro kaayo nga binuang ang desisyon, klaro kaayo ang conspiracy (The decision was clearly a joke. It's obvious there was conspiracy)," lawyer Arbet Sta. Ana-Yongco said in an interview.
She said Judge Suerte, Maņalac and the private prosecutor conspired with each other in pinning Devinadera for allegedly helping Ben Bacolod kill Alona in January 2002.
Devinadera's conviction as an accessory to the murder of Alona could weaken the parricide case against Ecleo, which is pending before the Cebu City RTC.
Yongco, the private prosecutor of the parricide, said the complaints will both be filed before the Supreme Court and the Office of the Ombudsman.
The Office of the Regional State Prosecutor will also look into the circumstances behind the filing of the criminal case against Devinadera, who was convicted last May 7.
Jaime Bacolod, a distant relative of Alona, had filed a kidnapping and serious illegal detention case against Devinadera before the Cebu Provincial Prosecutor's Office.
In General Santos City last December, Devinadera told the police that he saw Ben strangle his younger sister Alona and that he helped Ben dump the body in Dalaguete, Cebu.
Ben was among those killed when a lone gunman strafed the Bacolod home in Mandaue City on June 18, 2002, the same day Ecleo was arrested inside his Dinagat Island mansion.
Maņalac, who was detailed as assistant provincial prosecutor, filed an information for murder against Devinadera instead.
Maņalac, in an interview, said he based his decision on the evidence presented to their office.
"We are bound by the rules and I acted in accordance with the rules governing prosecutors. There is nothing fishy with my acts. The law is on my side," he said.
Maņalac will have some explaining to do before Regional State Prosecutor Antonio Arellano and Acting Provincial Prosecutor Napoleon Alburo.
Judge Suerte of the RTC in Barili refused to give any comment yesterday. A motion for reconsideration of his decision has been filed.
Suerte earlier said that he convicted Devinadera, who pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of homicide last April 23, because the case records did not mention the parricide case against Ecleo.
Devinadera's parents believe, though, their son was only made a fall guy, after another PBMA member convinced him to admit having a hand in Alona's death.
Leonila, 64, wishes her son freedom and safety as he marks his 33rd birthday inside the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center today.
The Devinadera couple asked the NBI 7 that Cedrick be transferred to the bureau's office in Barangay Capitol Site, Cebu City.
An NBI 7 team fetched the two from their house in Labangon, Cebu City yesterday afternoon for them to execute a formal affidavit in connection with Cedrick's conviction as accessory to Alona's murder.
They will visit their son in jail Tuesday, Leonila's third since Cedrick's detention there.
Leonila was able to see her son when he was still under the custody of the NBI from last December to April this year.
Candido said his younger brother Eduardo had convinced Cedrick to join PBMA as the two both formerly worked as furniture workers.
"He heals people. He has a silver ring. We were against his joining the PBMA because he stopped working. He was also going to Dinagat Island," Candido said in Cebuano.
Leonila recalled that Cedrick even warned her not to interfere in the case or else she would not see him anymore.
They were surprised of their son's conviction last May 7, as they only learned through radio reports and from a neighbor.
They said that Cedrick's lawyer Luis Salazar never informed them about the criminal case filed against their son.
While the NBI is bound to follow court procedures when intervening in a case before the court, no law bars it from investigating Judge Suerte for his ruling or Maņalac for having filed the case in court in the first place.
"Just because I am a judge, for example, doesn't mean I am already incapable of committing a crime. The NBI can conduct an investigation against any person in relation to a criminal case," explained RTC Executive Judge Simeon Dumdum.
NBI 7 Executive Officer Nelson Bartolome took exception to a defense lawyer's comment that the bureau cannot investigate Suerte as it amounts to usurpation of the judiciary's function.
If, for instance, an extortion or a bribery case involves a judge, "do we have to file a motion in court before we can investigate?" Bartolome pointed out. GC/GAN/KNR/GN
(May 25, 2004 issue)
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